The present invention relates to telecommunication technology. In particular, the invention concerns a new and improved method and system for presenting the cost of a telecommunication connection on data terminal equipment.
A prior-art practice is to use a standardised Advice Of Charge (AOC) auxiliary service to present call price information to the committer of a connection. The auxiliary service is in use at least in ISDN networks (ISDN, Integrated Services Digital Network) and in digital mobile communication networks. In a mobile communication network, the advice-of-charge auxiliary service presents call cost information preferably on the display of a mobile station in accordance with call price data stored in the memory locations of the subscriber identity module (SIM). In an ISDN network, the advice-of-charge auxiliary service is available at an ISDN basic rate interface, at an ISDN primary rate interface and at a V5 interface.
In an ISDN network, the advice-of-charge auxiliary service is divided into three services (AOC-S, AOC-D, AOAC-E). Services corresponding to these are also implemented in many mobile communication systems. AOC-S (Advice Of Chargexe2x80x94charging information at call Set-up time) serves to send rate based charging information to the terminal at call set-up time as well as during the call if the rates vary. AOC-D (Advice Of Chargexe2x80x94charging information During the call) serves to send to the terminal information regarding the bill accumulated for a connection so far, during the connection and at its end. In the AOC-E (Advice Of Chargexe2x80x94charging information at the End of the call) service, information giving the total price accumulated for a connection at the end of the connection.
AOC-S and AOC-D are applicable for all telecommunication services. AOC-E is applicable for all circuit-switched telecommunication services. Auxiliary services do not replace or complement the call charge measurement performed by the network.
In the above-described presentation of call cost information to the committer of a telecommunication connection by transmitting cost data to his/her telecommunication terminal over the network, a problem is the network capacity occupied in the transmission of these data. If the subscriber wants real-time information regarding the price of his/her call, then price information must be sent to him/her continuously. This requires plenty of capacity.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks described above or at least to significantly reduce them.
A specific object of the present invention is to disclose a new type of method and system for presenting cost information to the user of a telecommunication terminal.
As for the features characteristic of the invention, reference is made to the claims.
In the method of the invention, the cost of a telecommunication connection is presented on the subscribe""s telecommunications terminal in a telecommunication system comprising a telephone exchange and a telecommunication terminal communicating with the telephone exchange over a telecommunication network. Furthermore, the telecommunication system comprises a billing centre, which takes care of charge calculation for telecommunication connections and communicates with the telephone exchange. Based on the charge calculation, the subscribers in the telecommunication network are charged for telecommunication connections and services used.
According to the invention, connection-specific advice-of-charge data is transmitted to the subscriber""s telecommunication terminal at the beginning of a telecommunication connection and, from the advice-of-charge data, the price of the telecommunication connection is calculated by means of the telecommunication terminal. Further, according to the invention, the calculated real-time price of the telecommunication connection is presented on the telecommunication terminal.
In an embodiment of the method, the advice-of-charge data comprises advice-of-charge parameters and a formula describing the development of the cost of the telecommunication connection. The advice-of-charge parameters comprise all the parameters presented in the formula describing the development of the cost. If the telecommunication terminal is provided with a clock and the terminal measures the amount of data transmitted, when the only advice-of-charge parameters needed are charge per data unit and possible rate changes according to the time of day.
In some systems, such as the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone System) several telecommunication connections can be set up simultaneously for a single telecommunication terminal. Separate connections may be simultaneously active e.g. for speech and video. In this case, a connection-specific cost can be calculated for each telecommunication connection and the charge for each connection can be presented separately on the telecommunication terminal. Furthermore, the total price accumulated from all telecommunication connections can be calculated in the terminal and presented on its display.
In a preferred embodiment of the method, the billing centre is a service provider. In this case, the service provider charges the subscriber directly for telecommunication services used. This may apply e.g. to the future UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone System) mobile communication system. The service provider is part of the telecommunication system and is also connected to the telephone exchange. A service provider acting on the basis of an agreement generally charges the subscriber directly for services used. The billing centre may also be a telephone exchange.
In an embodiment or the method, the cost calculation carried out in the telecommunication terminal is corrected and modified with updated advice-of-charge data during the connection. Updates are generated in the billing centre every time when the advice-of-charge parameters change or when the user wants to check whether the sum produced by the calculation performed by the terminal equipment is the same as the amount to be charged for the connection.
In an embodiment of the method, updated advice-of-charge data is transmitted to the telecommunication terminal when the rate for a telecommunication connection is changed, when the bandwidth reserved for the telecommunication connection is changed, upon the subscriber""s request and/or periodically at intervals of a predetermined length.
If some part of the advice-of-charge data cannot be transmitted to the telecommunication terminal, e.g. if the price information given by the service provider is not of a format that would allow it to be included in the formula or if the information is otherwise not received, then a notice of this circumstance could also be transmitted to the telecommunication terminal. The message to be transmitted to the terminal could contain an indication of what part of the advice-of-charge data is missing. This would obviate indeterminate situations in the telecommunication terminal, in other words, the terminal would not expect advice-of-charge data that is not available. On the other hand the user would also be informed about the situation and would not remain waiting for price information.
In an embodiment of the method, the price for a telecommunication connection calculated by the terminal is updated by the price calculated by the billing centre and charged from the subscriber. The billing centre can also be programmed to transmit the cost accumulated for the telecommunication connection as calculated by the billing centre to the telecommunication terminal at the end of the connection.
In an embodiment of the method, the subscriber is charged for a telecommunication connection on the basis of the charge calculation performed by the billing centre. Thus, the price suggested by the terminal does not replace the charge calculation performed by the network operator.
In an embodiment of the method, the advice-of-charge data is transmitted to the telecommunication terminal using advice-of-charge (AOC) auxiliary services.
In an embodiment of the method, the transmission to the telecommunication terminal of advice-of-charge data is activated automatically for all calls by the billing centre, for each telecommunication terminal or for each call via activation by the subscriber.
In an embodiment of the method, the telecommunication system is a digital mobile communication system. In this case, the telephone exchange is a mobile services switching centre, the telecommunication terminal is a mobile station and the price is preferably presented on the display of the mobile station.
The system of the invention for presenting the cost of a telecommunication connection on the telecommunication terminal of the committer of the telecommunication connection in a telecommunication system comprises a telephone exchange and a telecommunication terminal communicating with the telephone exchange over a telecommunication network. Connected to the telephone exchange is a billing centre, which takes care of charge calculation in the network. Based on the charge calculation, the subscribers in the telecommunication network are charged for their telecommunication connections. Moreover, the telecommunication system may comprise at least one service provider, which is also connected to the telephone exchange. The service provider is a network element providing a given service.
According to the invention, the system comprises means for transmitting connection-specific advice-of-charge data to the telecommunication terminal, and the telecommunication terminal comprises means for calculating from the advice-of-charge data the cost accumulated for the telecommunication connection. Further, according to the invention, the telecommunication terminal comprises means for presenting the calculated cost of the telecommunication connection in conjunction with the telecommunication terminal. If for some reason the advice-of-charge data is not available, e.g. because of a malfunction in the service provider""s equipments, then a notice about this circumstance is transmitted to the telecommunication terminal.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing centre comprises means for generating advice-of-charge parameters and a formula describing the development of the cost of the telecommunication connection and for including said parameters and formula in the advice-of-charge data.
In some systems, such as the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone System), several telecommunication connections can be set up simultaneously for a single telecommunication terminal. Separate connections may be simultaneously open e.g. for speech and video. In this case, the telecommunication terminal may comprise means for calculating the cost of each telecommunication connection separately and means for presenting cost information in conjunction with the telecommunication terminal. Furthermore, the telecommunication terminal may comprise means for adding the costs of all open telecommunication connections together and presenting the total price on the terminal.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing centre is a service provider. In this case, the service provider charges the subscriber directly for telecommunication services used. This may apply e.g. to the future UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone System) mobile communication system. The billing centre may also be a telephone exchange.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the telecommunication terminal comprises means for updating the cost calculation during a connection on the basis of updated advice-of-charge data.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing centre comprises means for updating the advice-of-charge data and transmitting said data to the telecommunication terminal when the rate for the telecommunication connection changes, when the bandwidth reserved for the telecommunication connection changes, upon the subscriber""s request and/or periodically at predetermined intervals.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing centre comprises means for updating the cost calculation performed by the telecommunication terminal with prices calculated by the billing centre. In addition, the billing centre may comprise means for transmitting the cost accumulated for the telecommunication connection as calculated by the billing centre to the telecommunication terminal at the end of the connection.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system comprises means for the activation of automatic transmission of advice-of-charge data for all calls by the billing centre, separately for each telecommunication terminal or for each call via activation by the subscriber. These means are implemented in a manner known to the skilled person, e.g. using electronics and software.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the telecommunication system is a digital mobile communication system.
The invention saves telecommunication network capacity. Call cost information is not transmitted continuously to the telecommunication terminal, thus allowing the capacity reserved for cost data transmission to be used for other purposes.
The invention makes it possible to present information regarding the cost of a telecommunication connection to the user of the telecommunication terminal in real time. The subscriber is continuously aware of the current cost of the connection. This opens many new possibilities for service providers and users.